


Are Aliens Carbon-Based Lifeforms?

by ExyCherry



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: AFTG Exchange, Alternate Universe - High School, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff, aaron minyard? with an academic rival? it's more likely than you'd think, he's dramatic okay, i promise it's free of angst, not really enemies but but aaron calls katelyn his nemesis, wow i wrote fluff for once
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:33:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24504718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExyCherry/pseuds/ExyCherry
Summary: Aaron Minyard has a nemesis. A criminally smart, illegally gorgeous nemesis.
Relationships: Aaron Minyard & Andrew Minyard, Katelyn/Aaron Minyard, Kevin Day & Aaron Minyard
Comments: 18
Kudos: 30
Collections: AFTG Exchange Spring 2020





	Are Aliens Carbon-Based Lifeforms?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ApprenticedMagician](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ApprenticedMagician/gifts).



> written for the 2020 AFTG spring exchange. many thanks to [Wishopenastar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wishopenastar/profile) for beta'ing for me!

Aaron Minyard has a nemesis. A beautiful one, but a nemesis nonetheless. Said nemesis is around five foot seven, which is already a crime in and of itself. How anyone could have the audacity to be so tall is beyond Aaron. Why did he have to get the (literal) short end of the stick?

Her name is Katelyn McNamara, and she also happens to be Aaron’s lab partner in AP chemistry. He likes her well enough, sure, but she’s still his nemesis. They butt heads in everything, from projects to tests to class participation. It’s the first time Aaron’s ever enjoyed competition with anyone, because his opponent is actually at his level (mentally, anyway).

Fortunately for Aaron, he and Katelyn only share that one class, so he doesn’t have to see her elsewhere. It’s just as well too, because he’s not sure he can handle competing with her any more than he already does. She drives him up the wall.

It’s a typical Monday morning when it happens: the first after school partner project of the semester. Aaron groans internally; he can’t imagine what working with Katelyn outside of class will be like. Is she just as driven without a teacher watching? He certainly hopes so.

They agree to meet at the library for an hour after school. “I can’t stay longer,” Katelyn explains, setting down her bag. “I have cheer practice.”

Aaron doesn’t dignify this with a response, and instead sets a textbook on the table between them. They work in silence, divvying the work up between them, until the hour has passed and Katelyn has to leave. Working with her isn’t intolerable, Aaron finds. Actually, it’s nice to have someone there.

Tuesday’s session goes just the same as Monday’s, with minimal chatter and maximum productivity. At the rate they’re going, Aaron’s pretty sure they’ll finish by Thursday. That leaves the whole weekend to proofread and edit, and correct any mistakes Katelyn may have made. On Wednesday, however, Katelyn seems less peppy than usual. Normally, Aaron wouldn’t care, but she’s working slower and it’s going to set them behind schedule. 

“What’s wrong?” Aaron asks after twenty infuriating minutes. 

“What?” Katelyn asks, clearly caught off-guard.

“You’re upset about something. What’s wrong?”

She shakes her head and turns back to her work. _So much for trying to help,_ Aaron thinks to himself. Against his own will, he can’t help but worry about her in the back of his mind. Faintly he wonders if something’s wrong at home, or if she’s just having a bad day. _Whatever. She doesn’t want to talk about it anyway._

As Katelyn’s packing up to leave, Aaron puts his hand on her forearm. “It’ll be okay,” he says, halting, unsure. Then, without thinking, he offers her his number. 

“In case you want to work on the project after practice,” he adds quickly. “No other reason.”

In class on Thursday, Katelyn sets a cookie in front of Aaron. “For yesterday,” she explains, with her trademark Katelyn smile. To Aaron’s dismay, it’s delicious. 

“Thanks,” he says, then turns his attention to his notes. His cheeks are burning and he’s not sure why. It’s just a cookie from a pretty girl, nothing special. Anyone can make cookies from a package.

“It’s my grandmother’s recipe,” Katelyn says after a bit. “She says they’re better homemade.”

 _Fuck,_ Aaron thinks. 

“Okay,” Aaron says. “It’s good.”

“Good! I mean, thank you.”

Aaron gets almost no work done after school, because he’s too busy glancing over at Katelyn every five seconds. She tugs at her hair when she’s stuck on a problem, he notices. He keeps pulling his gaze away from her, only to find her back in his line of sight not moments later. She’s far too distracting for him to get anything done.

“Will you be at the exy game tomorrow?” Katelyn asks as she’s packing up. “First of the season and all.”

“I’m on the team, actually,” Aaron says. “Number five. Backliner.”

Katelyn blinks at him a few times before bursting into a fit of laughter. “You’re a _backliner?”_ she cackles. “But—but you’re so short!”

Aaron lets his head fall forward on the table and sighs, mentally berating himself for telling her anything. Katelyn pats his shoulder sympathetically. Aaron decides in that moment that he wants nothing more than to have never met her. 

At the game on Friday, Aaron finds himself glancing over at the cheerleaders often to look for Katelyn. Unfortunately, his friend Kevin notices. “Get your head in the game,” Kevin says, lightly smacking Aaron on his head. 

Kevin takes exy far too seriously in Aaron’s opinion, but he rolls his eyes and listens anyway. Kevin’s a great striker and also Aaron’s closest friend, so he doesn’t feel like having this argument right now. And if he keeps sneaking occasional glances over, well, it’s not hurting anyone.

“What did Kevin want?”

Aaron looks up from his book to see his twin, Andrew, standing beside his desk. 

“What are you talking about?” Aaron asks. Andrew narrows his eyes.

“At the game today.”

“Told me to get my head in the game, that’s all.”

“You were distracted. Why?”

Aaron shrugs his shoulders and turns back to his book. Andrew, not accepting this, presses on.

“I saw you staring at that cheerleader.” Aaron freezes. “We made a deal, Aaron.”

“She’s just my lab partner,” Aaron mutters. “She means nothing to me.”

Andrew hums and sets his shoulders back, crosses his arms over his chest. “She had better,” he says, then walks away, leaving Aaron to his reading.

Aaron’s phone pings around ten o’clock on Saturday morning. It’s a text from Katelyn.

“I’m going to study at the library,” Aaron tells Nicky as he walks out the door. He faintly hears Nicky say okay, followed by a muffled noise that Aaron doesn’t care to interpret.

The walk to the library is short, accompanied by the sound of passing cars and the occasional bird. Aaron knows this walk well. After all, the library is really the only place he goes to outside of school. 

Katelyn’s sitting on a bench by the front entrance when Aaron arrives. She practically jumps up when he says her name, and her trademark grin is just as stunning as always. “I hope I didn’t scare you,” Aaron teases lightly.

“Me, scared? Of a shortie like you? Never,” Katelyn quips in reply.

They find an unoccupied table in the back, a quiet area where they’ll be able to focus on their work. At least, that’s the plan. It takes less than ten minutes for them to start talking about the elemental composition of alien lifeforms.

“All living things are  _ carbon-based _ , Kate!”

“Well, maybe not all planets  _ have _ carbon!”

“Then what are aliens made of, huh?”

“I don’t know, plutonium?”

“You’re suggesting they’re radioactive then?”

Katelyn sighs and rolls her eyes, grinning all the while. Aaron has the sudden urge to reach out and take her hand; he folds his hands in his lap instead.

“I just don’t know why they’d be based on Earthen elements. Other planets have other elements that we haven’t discovered yet, right? So aliens can be made of elements from their respective planets.”

“Okay, okay, you win!”

“I wasn’t aware this was a competition,” Katelyn says, quirking an eyebrow.

Just as Aaron’s about to reply, a familiar face catches his eye. “Oh, great,” he says under his breath. 

“What?” Katelyn asks, confused.

“My brother. I’ll go talk to him.”

Aaron stands quickly and walks towards his twin, intending to explain, but Andrew breezes right past him. “Andrew,” Aaron says, but it falls on deaf ears.

Andrew stalks up to Katelyn with murder in his eyes. Aaron hears her yelp as Andrew grabs the front of her shirt and pulls her up from her chair, backing her against the nearest wall. “If you touch him,” Andrew begins, “I will not hesitate to remove you from his life. You are worthless, and I do not take kindly to others touching my things.”

Andrew lets go and storms off without another word. Immediately, Aaron runs up to pull Katelyn into a protective hug. She’s crying. He’ll deal with Andrew later.

"What did he mean?" she sobs into Aaron's shoulder. 

"He's just overprotective," Aaron says. 

"Why me?" she presses. 

Aaron pauses for a moment, thinking of the best response. He settles on gently stroking her hair. 

"I like you," he says after a beat. 

“You do?”

“Yeah.”

Katelyn leans closer and, to Aaron’s surprise, places a gentle kiss on his forehead. 

“What’s that for?” he asks.

“The feeling is mutual,” she replies softly.

“Oh.”

Katelyn laughs and shakes her head, reaching down to take Aaron’s hands in her own. “I still think aliens are plutonium-based lifeforms.”

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on tumblr [here](https://cherry-scones-and-exy-thrones.tumblr.com/) and now you can donate to my ko-fi [here](https://ko-fi.com/jupitercorvusprior)!


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